Acquisition of Booz & Company to help advisory practice: PwC

Audit and consultancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said here today that its global acquisition of rival Booz & Company would help its advisory practice in the country since the combined entity would have a team of over 4,000 consultants.

"The acquisition got completed on March 31 and it will give us a greater depth in the strategic practice where we already have people," PwC India advisory leader Michael J Surface told reporters here.

Booz India Managing Director Jai Sinha said after the merger that the the combined entity would have 80 partners and 4,000 consultants, which could work across sectors.

However, both Sinha and Surface refused to give details of the number of people who joined the combined entity from Booz. Sinha, said there would not be any retrenchments as the staff of both the entities have got merged.

Surface said that with 4,000 people, this would be the second biggest advisory business for PwC globally after the USA, which has a 9,000 headcount in the division.

The firm's advisory practice the fastest growing among all businesses here as well as among all advisory businesses across all geographies globally, he said, adding, it would only receive a boost after the merger. Booz has been renamed as 'Strategic &' by PwC post- acquisition.